A MURDER OF CROWS

A Murder OF CROWs 

by P.F. Chisolm

ISBN: 97815905865700

Pub. by Poisoned Pen Press,

2010, 253 pages

A detective novel with a distinct flair. London, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. It was a loud, rowdy, stinking town of open sewers, disease, and the most rampant and egregious kind of crime and corruption imaginable. It’s a wonder the kingdom survived.

The corruption extended all the way up through the ranks into the Queen’s Court. The maneuvering for power, for the favor of the Queen, along with the necessary fending off of those courtiers who would supplant any Royal in the way of advancement was constant. For another look inside this society, read any of Shakespeare’s plays, especially the history plays and the tragedies.

This story occurs in 1592 and poet Will Shakespeare is a character here. It is six years before the building of the famous Globe Theater. The Queen’s Chamberlain is Lord Hunsdon. His son, Carey, also related to the Queen, of course, is a courtier with better than average intelligence. That’s a good thing because Carey is Deputy Warden, stationed in Carlisle, administering what passes for law enforcement in the north. Now, he’s in London with his main man, Land Sergeant Dodd, as dour a rural Scot as you’re ever likely to meet in the pages of Elizabethan literature. The byplay and internal dialogues between these two principal characters is priceless and vastly illuminating.

It would take entirely too many words to even summarize the plot of this delightful, fast-paced, complicated novel. It’s about power; who has it and who wants it. Never mind. The story is in the maneuvering, in the interactions between the characters and the lively descriptions of Elizabethan London.

“A Murder of Crows” is part of a series so readers new to this author have several other books to look forward to. Important history engagingly presented, nuanced characters, and a fine story. I am delighted to find this author and her excellent books and recommend them without hesitation.

A FAIR TO DIE FOR

A Fair To Die For          

by Radine Trees Nehring

ISBN: 9781610091220

A 2012 release from Oak Tree Press

238 pages (without recipes)

In spite of continual bumps on their road of life, Carrie McCrite and her second husband, Henry, forge onward. They both have healthy, positive attitudes. That’s mildly surprising for Henry. He’s retired from a career as a cop in Kansas City. They expected to live a quiet, typical retiree life in the Ozarks. Fate intervenes, in the form of a long-forgotten cousin named Edith Embler. Edith blows into town looking for family history and bringing behind her a variety of really bad dudes who seem to hang around craft fairs with evil intent.

The story rests in a really clever idea, and the author handles the plot necessities carefully and responsibly. Her skill as a writer puts this novel very much in a positive cozy sort of grouping. Like a lot of traditional American mysteries, this story has a harder edge than is typically found in the classical, traditional, stories from the UK.

Carrie’s experience and generosity of spirit in wanting to help Edith in every possible way play out nicely against her husband’s more suspicious and cautious nature. The novel is interestingly peopled with several unusual characters who add to the richness of the scene. I’ve been reading this author over a number of years and am pleased to recommend this novel. It is, in the end, a satisfying mystery involving nice people who are truly competent. If there is a message here, it is a cautionary one. We all might view with a certain hesitation, if not suspicion, the abrupt arrival of long-lost relatives.

A COLD WHITE SUN

A Cold White Sun
By Vicki Delany
ISBN: 9781464201585
A 20013 hardcover release
From Poisoned Pen Press

A fine, judicious blend of action, mystery, thoughtful introspection and
exploration of human conditions and motivations marks this novel. The
story is a part of the author's continuing series about the development
of a young constable in the police force of a small community,
Trafalgar. The town is located in a prime tourist region of British
Columbia. That's a province of Canada. The mountains offer prime skiing,
the streams fishing and the forests hunting of various animals. Tourism
is big business but that brings troubles as well.
Moonlight Smith, born of a hippie activist American couple, a
near-champion downhill skier, much to her mother's initial consternation
has settled, at least temporarily, for a career as a cop. She's bright,
good-looking and not entirely sure of her life direction. Delaney has
set this interesting character up with two bosses. She's basically a
patrol officer in the small department, but because the head of murder
investigations, John Winters, recognizes her intelligence,
Moonlight—Molly—Smith is frequently tasked to participate in his
investigations.

This time the crime is murder. Out for her daily walk, high school
English teacher Cathy Lindsay is slain, shot in the back. Subsequent
investigation can find no plausible reason. Why was she a target? Was it
a mistake?
As the investigation winds through Trafalgar, the author takes the
opportunity to examine relationships between her principal characters,
their family members, and members of the constabulary. Some of the
scenes are loving, some are rife with anger and tension. The pace is
good and if the threads occasionally fray and lose a little direction,
that's inevitable. This novel has a lot of thoughtful observations and
this reviewer felt enriched. I'd award 4.75 stars if that was possible.

--

A BULLET APIECE

A Bullet Apiece 
By John Joseph Ryan
ISBN: 9781943075010
A 2015 release from
Blank Slate Press

The novel is a comfort read. That is, if you are an inveterate reader of
crime fiction, you can be comforted knowing that every joke, every bon
mot, just about every cliché of the genre finds its way into the pages
of this book. The dialogue ain't far off, either.
Ed Darvis is a St. Louis PI with a main-floor office in a seedy part of
town. The period is sometime after the end of the second world war.
Across the road-I suspect it's a paved street-is a charter school of
some kind and while Mr. Darvis is currently idle, he spends time smoking
cigarettes, observing the kiddies and ogling the teachers. And some of
the parents.
One day, a leggy, seductive woman who drives a late-model Caddy coupe
bursts from the school door in what our astute PI deduces is intense
fear, "radiating off her like heat waves." She roars off in a cloud of
exhaust leaving one of the teachers, clearly agitated, standing at the
schoolroom door. What we have is clearly a case of child abduction.
Enter PI Ed Darvis, cigarette dangling, loaded .38 in his belt, ready
and willing to find the child and bed either comely teacher or luscious
mother, not necessarily in that order.
The dialogue is snappy and often cute, the action is rousing and
predictable and the plot becomes surprisingly tangled. Whether the whole
thing is a tongue-in-cheek put-on or a serious attempt at a novel is for
readers to determine. This reviewer is persuaded the author invested a
considerable effort to produce this story and it has its moments.

MN ORCHESTRA RACES TO HIGH ENERGY SUCCESS

Concert goers to the Minnesota Orchestra are in for a real energizing treat this weekend (3-16 and-17) With young substitute conductor, Perry So, the orchestra offers up a fast-paced trio of lesser-known pieces by some stalwart dogs, Mozart, Mendelssohn, and Beethoven. All are handled with aplomb and finesse by the orchestra and director who was brought in at literally the last moment.

Adding to the excitement, young-very young-violinist Simone Porter laid into the Mendelssohn Concerto in E minor with considerable sass and assurance. She appeared to have left the Thursday morning concert audience and members neatly exhausted with her speed and passion. The audience approved mightily.

Overall, one could quibble that perhaps some subtle nuances were ignored or run down by the pell-mell pace, but all three pieces were cleanly and enjoyably performed.

Minnesota Orchestra salutes Sir Neville Marriner

Coffee concert today, 1/26/17. Originally scheduled to be conducted by
Sir Marriner who died unexpectedly in October, 2017.  The orchestra performed admirably, first
Fingal's Cave by Mendelssohn, then Beethoven's Symphony No. 1 in C major. Finally, Anton Dvorak's Symphony No. 8 in G minor. All three were well done although I found the Beethoven to be a bit up tempo for my taste.

At the end, a series of projected photographs of Marriner while the orchestra performed. A fitting tribute to a much loved conductor who led the Minnesota Orchestra from 1979 to 1986.